What Makes Powerful Characters a Turn-Off in Fiction?

The appeal of ‘weak’ heroes

Esme Harlow
The Writing Cooperative
6 min readApr 24, 2024

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A statue of Amphitrite by Michel Anguier, exhibited in the Palace of Versailles.
Image: Author

Power is attractive for two big reasons. One, it’s a source of admiration (sometimes envy), and two, it provides a sense of safety.

Those elements explain why so many ‘beginner’ writers and some non-beginners too make the mistake of over-empowering their main characters. I add the quotations to…

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